SANFORD - Christine Bartel, of Cameron, is Central Carolina Community College's nominee for the Dallas Herring Achievement Award.

The award is established by the North Carolina Community College System to honor the late Dr. Dallas Herring, whose philosophy of "taking people where they are and carrying them as far as they can go" is the guiding principle of the system. The award is given annually to a current or former community college student who best embodies Dr. Herring's philosophy.

"When I hear the statement of Dr. Herring's belief, 'Take people where they are and carry them as far as they can go,' I see two parts that involve participation from the school and the student," said Bartel.

"For me, my success at CCCC in the Medical Assistant program was a partnership between myself, the program, and my instructors. ... After my first week of courses, I thought I had really made a mistake but I didn't want to be that person to back out. But, as the first month of classes went on, I learned that the only person holding me back was me. I was maintaining A's in all of my courses and realized that with a lot of effort I could do this," she said. "I felt a level of self-confidence in myself that I hadn't felt in a long time because of this program. I soon saw myself as the leader my instructors were encouraging me to be. And, in the first semester, learned my peers saw me as one, too, when I was elected as our 2016 class president. It was an honor and a privilege that I had never thought I would be experiencing."

Bartel, in her essay statement, stated that none of this would have been possible without the support system she received at home and also because of the support she had from her instructors. "Next to my husband, they were my biggest cheerleaders," she said. "They saw what I was able to do and encouraged me to go even further."

For more information on Central Carolina Community College, visit www.cccc.edu.